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The issue: The sound volume of some instruments fluctuates too much between different song parts.

Example: when going from verse 1 to chorus 1, I mute the guitar 1 track but keep guitar 2 going. However, the volume of guitar 2 comes in significantly lower than the overall volume of the song.

The need: I want to be able to adjust the volume of guitar 2 IN THAT SECTION OF THE SONG (chorus 1) to be even with the overall volume of the song. So far I have only been able to adjust the volume of guitar 2 in the "Mixer Instrument Tracks" BUT, doing so adjust the volume for the entire song NOT just chorus 1. How do I adjust the volume of guitar 2 just for that specific part of the song (chorus 1)?

I used the guitar 1 & guitar 2 example but the same need applies to other instruments and parts of the song when they are muted and brought back to life.

Last edited by jcgato98; 01/01/26 04:33 PM. Reason: UPDATED

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Are you aware of F5?

Press F5 at the measure where you want the change to occur. You will see pull down choices for each legacy instrument. You can do Louder, Fade and some accept negative numbers. There is also Return to Normal that can be used later in the song. There’s more, but try this if you did not know about it.

Sometimes I adjust the Edit, Song Form so I convert to One Long Chorus to make separate adjustments as the song proceeds.

If you are using F5, then please give a specific example where you cannot get what you want.


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Just pointing out that, in the example given, the two guitars may be (likely) panned.
Besides volume, making the one remaining guitar in that section more centered (for only that section) can help with the perceived volume.

/That may be beyond the scope of the asked question I suppose

Last edited by rharv; 01/01/26 08:10 AM.

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If I understand the problem correctly, this should enable you to adjust the volume of a specific region of a specific track:

1. Select the track
2. Go to Audio Edit
3. Select Edit from Audio Edit command bar
4. Select Amplify from the popup window. + and - dB values are recognized.

This is only a theory, as I make these adjustments in my DAW after exporting.


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having been brought up on mixing desks i find the mixer in RB easier to handle - just like an old fashioned desks and you can record mixer moves of the sliders to adjust volume throughout the song. Lots of good advice above for BIAB but the RB mixer is my favourite. and like a real mixing desk you can hear the change as you move the slider.

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After some searching thru the video tutorials I ran in to a good Tutorial on how to do exactly what I was looking for. If you have the same need or are just interested in furthering your understanding of audio volume automation I recommend you take a look at it.



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I have a different approach. I don't worry about the volume of anything in BB. I know I plan to move everything out of BB and into my DAW. In the DAW I have absolute control over everything from the volume, to the panning and the inclusion of any and all FX for each track.

I've been working this way since forever. I find it easier for me to do everything in the DAW and just let BB make the tracks, which it does exceedingly well.


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I fully understand that and would likely take the same approach 20-30 years ago. However I picked my very first instrument and started on the music journey @ 65 after retirement. I am now one step away from 70 and found out that manipulating audio editing software is not an immediate thing. The more software one uses, the less instrument playing time one will have available. That being said I have noticed a significant improvement on the BB packages that I have been using the last 5 years. A lot of it has made it easier to manipulate sound dynamics to include as you mentioned above the panning, tone, FX, etc. Always learning, I ran into this video tutorial that covers exactly that...



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Originally Posted by jcgato98
I fully understand that and would likely take the same approach 20-30 years ago. However I picked my very first instrument and started on the music journey @ 65 after retirement. I am now one step away from 70 and found out that manipulating audio editing software is not an immediate thing. The more software one uses, the less instrument playing time one will have available. ........

I'm headed to 72 this year. My how time flies. I create the song in BB. Then I open the DAW and insert the BB plugin. I can drag the tracks I want and use BB plugin to add more instrument real tracks. All of that is quick and easy. I still have plenty of time for playing the keyboard, guitar, and bass parts if I'm inclined to play them myself. I don't see that it takes any more time this way. In fact I believe it is quicker. When I need to control the volume of something, in the DAW I simply add a volume envelope and manually drop my nodes. If it's too loud or too soft I can change it with a quick click drag. If I don't like a particular track, I mute it and keep on going.

Yeah there's a little bit of a learning curve but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a much faster way to work.

And adding FX..... There's no comparison to how easy it is in the DAW. Stacking multiple FX and rearranging the order is a click drag process. 2 seconds and done


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It all sounds good. Maybe once I actually learn to play the instrument and become pretty familiar with BB I'll add the DAW route to the repertoire. Thank you for the tips.


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My workflow is like Herb's. I've intermittently tried to work in BiaB or RealBand, but *for me* importing the stems to a DAW is far faster and more powerful than arranging a mix in one of the PGMusic products. There are users on these forums who have reached other conclusions with great sounding results.


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The only thing I still haven't figured out about the volume automation is the MONO vs. STEREO track/channel view(s).

1. The tutorial view above shows the process in what it seems a MONO track view. However,
2. BB opens a selected track in a STEREO view which takes a lot of space/ doubles the view for all the edits

My preference would be to view the track being edited in the MONO view just like the tutorial. If there is a doing that I still haven't figured it out.


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Ahhh...I think I found the thread I need to read

https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=471322&Searchpage=1&Main=68839&Words=%22Converting+stereo+tracks+to+mono%22&Search=true#Post471322


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Originally Posted by Guitarhacker
I have a different approach. I don't worry about the volume of anything in BB. I know I plan to move everything out of BB and into my DAW. In the DAW I have absolute control over everything from the volume, to the panning and the inclusion of any and all FX for each track.

I've been working this way since forever. I find it easier for me to do everything in the DAW and just let BB make the tracks, which it does exceedingly well.

+1

Biab makes the tracks.
The Daw does the rest.

I use track level automation where necessary. It’s a quick easy to deal with a bar or two of a track you don’t want up front. I also like master level automation for the entire “band” for example, transitioning between intro, head, solos, outtro. Pushing the band up and down a db or two really helps give the song a little snap.


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Originally Posted by mrgeeze
[quote=Guitarhacker]I have a different approach. I don't worry about the volume of anything in BB. I know I plan to move everything out of BB and into my DAW. In the DAW I have absolute control over everything from the volume, to the panning and the inclusion of any and all FX for each track.

I've been working this way since forever. I find it easier for me to do everything in the DAW and just let BB make the trac

+1

Biab makes the tracks.
The Daw does the rest.

I use track level automation where necessary. It’s a quick easy to deal with a bar or two of a track you don’t want up front. I also like master level automation for the entire “band” for example, transitioning between intro, head, solos, outtro. Pushing the band up and down a db or two really helps give the song a little snap.

Yep.

Could I do it all in BIAB? Certainly but I have far more control exporting the tracks to Digital Performer which I’d been using nearly 20 years before BIAB and going from there—faster, too.


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< The issue: The sound volume of some instruments fluctuates too much between different song parts. >
<< The need: I want to be able to adjust the volume of guitar 2 IN THAT SECTION OF THE SONG (chorus 1) to be even with the overall volume of the song. So far I have only been able to adjust the volume of guitar 2 in the "Mixer Instrument Tracks" BUT, doing so adjust the volume for the entire song NOT just chorus 1. How do I adjust the volume of guitar 2 just for that specific part of the song (chorus 1)? >>


There's multiple ways to address your need using BIAB. Volume automation is one way but there are several different features in BIAB that can also do it.

BIAB has an advanced feature called the RealTrack Medley Maker that will not only allow you to balance the volume, but adjust the panning, and mute and unmute, of up to eleven RealTrack instruments at once. Further, because of the BIAB's reading ahead capability to determine what RealTrack data to select for each RealTrack instrument, BIAB is aware of forthcoming outro's of one instrument interacting with the second instrument beginning to play its intro prompting BIAB to automatically create a "smooth transition" between the two instruments.

A user can instruct BIAB to apply these processes and it will literally render a finished and arranged track that replicates exporting and editing multiple tracks in a DAW. It will create your arrangement automatically and it can be modified completely to meet the user's arrangement considerations.

Each of the 24 Mixer Tracks has the RealTrack Medley Maker. Each of the 24 tracks can hold up to eleven RealTracks, each independent from the other 23 Mixer tracks.

Most users don't know they can generate, control, manipulate, and program as many as 264 RealTracks, arranged as they have directed, all in a single render.

To load both guitars onto a Mixer Channel using the RealTrack Medley Maker:

Select the Mixer channel of one guitar. Open the RealTracks StylePicker, to open the RealTrack Medley Maker; It's located located in the RealTracks Picker under the Settings Button.

Then complete your arrangement for muting, panning and volume adjustment in that dialog window and BIAB will generate those two instruments in the arrangement you programmed.

I've attached a screen shot example of two instruments playing on the same Mixer Channel and alternating every four bars at first and then having four bars of silence between the two instruments alternating with each other.

Attached Files (Click to download or enlarge) (Only available when you are logged in)
Programmed RT Medley.jpg (50.26 KB, 25 downloads)

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